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Roșiori (military unit)

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1930 drawing of cavalrymen wearing the distinctive red uniform of the Roșiori, 1890s model
CountryKingdom of Romania
RoleCavalry
Nickname(s)"Red Hussars"

The Roșiori were a type of cavalry unit in the Romanian Army. Active throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Roșiori were known for their vibrant red uniforms.

History

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The Roșiori were formed in 1868[1] during a period of modernization within the Romanian army. The result of these reforms was the formation of an irregular cavalry force (described in one source as being armed like Cossacks),[2] the Călărași, and a professional cavalry force, the Roșiori, who were armed and organized along the lines of the cavalry of the German Empire.[2] The Roșiori wore scarlet hussar uniforms, white pantaloons, and white belts;[2] some sources describe the units as the "Red Hussars".[2]

By 1908, the Romanian army had elected to split the army's professional cavalry forces into hussar and lancer regiments.[3] As part of this division, the Roșiori were re-organized as lancers, and formed six of the Romanian army's seventeen cavalry regiments.[3] The Roșiori were full-time soldiers, and maintained their distinctive red uniforms.[3] Roșiori regiments were made up of five squadrons (four of which were professional, one of which was irregular), with each squadron consisting of 174 horsemen.[4]

In 1912, uniforms of one color and cut for the whole army were introduced, initially only as campaign outfits: green-gray color, with patches, piping and stripes of distinctive color, and the regimental number was worn on the headdress and epaulettes. Compared to the infantry, the Roșiori wore gray-black pants, and since 1916, green-gray (during the war both models were worn). They also wore black leather boots, with spurs. During the war, knee-high boots or leggings of the same size were also used.[1][5]

Uniforms of the 9th and 1st Roșiori Regiments during World War I

The regiment color, present on patches and piping was:[1][5]

  • Yellow - 1st Regiment;
  • White - 2nd Regiment;
  • Green - 3rd Regiment;
  • Light blue - 4th Regiment;
  • Light green - 5th Regiment;
  • Dark blue - 6th Regiment;
  • Brown - 7th Regiment;
  • Purple - 8th Regiment;
  • Pink - 9th Regiment;
  • Gray - 10th Regiment
  • Dark red (brick color) - 11th Regiment.

During World War I, the Roșiori regiments served with distinction in campaigns against Austria-Hungary, the Kingdom of Bulgaria, and the German Empire.[6] The conflict also saw the mobilization of dismounted Roșiori regiments.[7]

Following the Romania's joining of the Axis powers and subsequent entry into World War II, Roșiori regiments (which numbered 13 as of 1942)[7] saw service on the Eastern Front against the Red Army.[8][7]

List of Roșiori regiments

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Cavaleria Română". Asociația Tradiția Militară (in Romanian).
  2. ^ a b c d COOKE, William Smith (1876). The Ottoman Empire and Its Tributary States-excepting Egypt, with a Sketch of Greece. Compiled by Captain W. S. Cooke ... With Maps. W. Clowes&Son.
  3. ^ a b c The Twentieth Century. Nineteenth Century and After. 1908.
  4. ^ Martin, Frederick; Keltie, Sir John Scott; Renwick, Isaac Parker Anderson; Epstein, Mortimer; Steinberg, Sigfrid Henry; Paxton, John; Hunter (Librarian), Brian; Turner, Barry (1908). The Statesman's Year-book. Palgrave.
  5. ^ a b Emil Boboescu (2014). "Arme si grade uitate 8. Cavaleria (partea a IV-a)". Resboiu.
  6. ^ a b c d (in Romanian) Multiple authors. România în anii primului război mondial (Romania during the years of World War I) (Bucharest, 1987), Editura Militară.
  7. ^ a b c Pettibone, Charles D. (2012-01-16). The Organization and Order or Battle of Militaries in World War II: Volume VII: Germany's and Imperial Japan's Allies & Puppet States. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 9781466903517.
  8. ^ a b Popa, Ion (2018-01-02). "The 7th Roșiori (Cavalry) Regiment and the Holocaust in Romania and the Soviet Union". Dapim: Studies on the Holocaust. 32 (1): 38–56. doi:10.1080/23256249.2018.1432250. ISSN 2325-6249. S2CID 159021449.